•
Rating: Published in 1993, "Human Wheels" represents a real turning point in the life and career of John Mellencamp. An artistic and human achievement for an honest, integral musician who throughout his career never had to compromise to achieve success. Indeed, true success, not just chart success dominated by silly pop songs, John Mellencamp achieved by giving his audience albums destined to last over time because they are rich with ideas, feature great songs, and are played as God intended. Even his darker and more contentious works, like the understated "Big Daddy," met with good receptions despite directly spitting venom at the music industry. Just think of a track like "Pop Singer", included in "Big Daddy," a minor work well worth rediscovering.
"Human Wheels," unfortunately, was not born under the best auspices. During the initial sessions for the new work, Mellencamp's band temporarily lost bassist Toby Myers due to an injury, and permanently lost keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist John Cascella due to a sudden illness. Additionally, John began to manifest the first symptoms of heart problems, partly due to the large number of cigarettes the former Cougar smoked daily. Perhaps it is just a coincidence, but probably these negative factors also contribute to making "Human Wheels" an album with wonderfully dark tones.
A meticulously crafted album, rich in content, social criticism, and great tracks played with absolute mastery by a top-tier band. Each musician indeed plays to the best of their ability, enriching the album with sophisticated nuances that distinguish Mellencamp's musical offering from the past. Kenny Aronoff's drumming is more restrained and less devastating than usual. The guitars, especially David Grissom’s, work intricately, and notable is the contribution of the talented Lisa Germano, skillfully handling various instruments and providing her vocals in the choruses of various tracks on the album. John Mellencamp, for his part, completes it all with a controlled, assured vocal performance through which he delivers the hard and realistic lyrics of the pieces that make up this work of great quality and relevance.
All the tracks deserve mention, starting with the opening "When Jesus Left Birmingham", a gospel-rock greatly influenced by Sly & The Family Stone, with a torrid text dealing with prostitution. With the following "Junior", Mellencamp begins the parade of losers in American society. He does so with a dry ballad, with a melodic refrain over an acoustic backdrop. The track that lends the album its title is a masterpiece. "Human Wheels" is a ballad with a rich arrangement and a remarkable bridge that places it among the absolute peaks of his production. Then it's up to the simple roots-rock of "Beige To Beige" to lower the emotional tension of the work, which immediately explodes again with the ruthless family chronicle of the harsh "Case 795 (The Family)".
"Suzanne And The Jewels" and the bitter "Sweet Evening Breeze" represent the ideal bridge with past albums. They are two successful ballads. The first is more lively, spirited, and full of breakups, and the other is more meditative. Black music then returns to the forefront with the sensual "French Shoes", an ideal bridge between The Rolling Stones and Sly Stone. Mellencamp’s more rock side emerges in the tense and decisive "What If I Came Knocking", a gem enhanced by the guitars of David Grissom and loyal Mike Wanchic, also operational in the production phase. Finally, it's up to the elegiac and hopeful "To The River" to offer, to a work at times dark, a glimmer of light and redemption.
This is how "Human Wheels" concludes, a work that, at the time of its release, would receive general critical acclaim. Many trade magazines would name it album of the year, but the public's response would not be very warm due to the poor promotion done by the record label, which, according to the artist, was guilty of having boycotted and pushed the album poorly in international markets. Years later, "Human Wheels" remains, nevertheless, one of the most successful works in Little Bastard’s discography. An album that is still very relevant for the themes addressed, rich and dictated by a moment of strong artistic inspiration. That artistic inspiration that John Mellencamp has never lacked and thanks to which he is still able to deliver great music.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Junior (04:11)
Written by: John Mellencamp
They call me Junior.
I live here on the street.
I earn two hundred dollars a week.
I'd like to say
"Hey, thanks a lot."
I know I'm missin' something
But I don't know what it is
That I don't got.
I sit here watchin'
The people down below.
I try to imagine
The places they may go.
I don't know.
I stay home a lot.
I know I'm missin' something
But I don't know what it is
That I don't got.
I see the world through the TV Guide,
What a safe place for me to run.
What a small little man I am.
I'm afraid of everything
From golden rules to airplanes.
What a small little man I am.
They call me Junior.
I'm caught up in this hell.
Sometimes I feel better
But I never do feel well.
Jesus must have one hell of a plan for me.
I know I'm missin' something
But I don't know what it is
That I don't got.
And if I have anything to say
About judgment day
There'll be a crown in heaven
For those who live this way.
Anyway,
You know exactly who you are.
I see the world through the TV Guide,
What a safe place for me to run.
What a small little man I am.
I'm afraid of everything
From the golden rule to airplanes.
What a small little man I am.
They call me Junior.
I live here on the street.
I earn two hundred dollars a week.
I'd like to say
"Hey man, thanks a lot"
My name is Junior
(Chorus out)
04 Beige to Beige (03:53)
Written by: John Mellencamp
No songs on the stereo
That we could sing with anymore.
No dance that I can do
That would not embarrass you.
A sound bite here and there
With no reason for me to care.
It's just beige to beige,
That's all it is these days,
Little windows for you to crawl through.
You just do what's expected of you.
It's just beige to beige to beige
These days.
Uniforms for this and that,
To be in our club you must wear this hat.
Charlie's gonna look out for you,
You just do what you're supposed to do.
You're gonna fit in here
Just like you should.
Learn the rules and learn them good.
It's just beige to beige,
That's all it is these days,
Little windows for you to crawl through.
You just do what's expected of you.
It's just beige to beige to beige
These days.
If you need a thought
We'll give it to you.
Our statistics show what we do is true.
A world without color
Is a world without sound,
A world to keep the rabble down.
So close the deal, close the door.
Forget about the colors that you knew before.
It's just beige to beige,
That's all it is these days, yeah,
Little windows for you to crawl through.
And Charlie gonna take care of you.
It's just beige to beige to beige
These days.
08 What If I Came Knocking (05:08)
Written by: John Mellencamp
What if I came knocking
On your front door some night?
Would you open the window
And drop me down the key?
What if I came knocking
On your bedpost that same night?
Would you open up your heart
Or try to get the best of me?
What if I came knocking
On your brain the next day
And ask for your truth and your love and your honesty?
Would you build up your big walls
And try to hide behind that smile
Or would you try to pull the wool right over me?
So what if I came knocking?
So what if I came knocking?
So what if I came kicking
And it scared you a little bit,
And I came on strong
Would you think
That there's something wrong with me?
Or could it be your fears
Of trying something real
Or just afraid to touch
A guy like me?
What if I came knocking?
What if I came knocking?
What if I came knocking
On your front door some night? Ahh
So let's just say it worked out
Like a storybook dream
And we lived happily ever after.
Fa la la la.
But what if I came crying
After just a few weeks
And said I misread my heart,
This is not really meant to be? yeah
So if you hear some knocking
On your window tonight
You can bet that it's probably me.
But let it be known
That we're just a pair of tumbling dice
And the outcome of these crap shoots
Is hard to see.
So what if I came knocking?
So what if I came knocking?
So what if I came knocking
On your front door tonight? Ahh
So what if I came knocking?
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knocking
Kick, kick, kick
What if I came knocking
On your front porch tonight, tonight?
Loading comments slowly
